1. Field
This invention relates generally to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning apparatus and more specifically to an improved system for heating buildings and the like.
2. Prior Art
Many different ways are known in which buildings are heated to temperatures which make working, sleeping and general living conditions more comfortable. Among the furnace systems available for heating buildings and the like are those which utilize natural gas, heating oil, and electricity. Heretofore, electrical heating systems have been less widely used, this mainly due to the general characteristic that the electrical power required to heat a given space is more expensive than the amount of heating oil or natural gas needed to heat the same space. This economic concern is especially acute because of the desire all over the world to find more and better ways to conserve energy.
State of the art electrical heating systems typically include resistive heating elements which are heated directly by electrical current passing therethrough and over which air is blown by a fan or similar device to heat the air before circulation throughout the house or building. A characteristic associated with this type of system is that each time air is to be heated for circulation through the building, the electrical heating elements must first be heated to an appropriate temperature. Much energy is lost in continued reheating and cooling of the heating elements.
Perhaps the most common and most accessible form of power available in industrial countries is electrical power; thus, electrical power would be a preferred source of energy for a building heating system if not for the great expense involved in purchasing the thousands of kilowatt hours of power which must be purchased to heat even modest size buildings in some climates.
In the case of heating systems which consume either natural gas or heating oil, an open flame is often kept burning at all times in order to ignite a greater flame at any given time, which greater flame heats the air to be circulated. Two major problems are associated with a continuously burning flame, these being: first, a continuous flame, even when well insulated, constitutes a fire hazard not found in electrical systems; second, the continuous flame, often called a pilot, can be extinguished at inopportune times, thus requiring relighting. Inappropriate expungement of pilot flames is accomplished oftentimes by minor and seemingly insignificant occurrences such as minor clogging of a gas line or minor malfunctioning of a valve.
Therefore, there exists in the industry a legitimate need for an electrical heating system which is capable of heating a given volume of space in a house or other building wherein the costs associated with heating that space are comparable with, or less than, the use of natural gas or heating oil systems.